Unsolicited Advice: Start Your Engines!

Published: 2013.06.10 06:00 AM

Baltimore, Md., hosts the Grand Prix of Baltimore every Labor Day, closing its waterfront streets for a road race in which cars zoom around at 180 mph. Every year on the Isle of Man, motorcycle racers hit 200 mph on a 37-mile course. Its organizers boast, “There is nothing on Earth quite like the Isle of Man TT Races … with its seemingly never-ending series of bends, bumps, jumps, stone walls, manhole covers and telegraph poles.”

Cities around the world host, or have hosted, races through their streets.

So, anyone up for a Honolulu Grand Prix? Imagine cars blasting from Diamond Head to the top of Tantalus. Or the Hana Highway! Start in Hana, race the whole highway then head straight up Haleakala! The 68-mile Hana Highway alone has some 620 curves and 59 bridges. Endure that, racers of the world!

It’s an unbeatable, telegenic combination: curvy roads, stunning scenery and fast cars. After all, Hawaii is always looking for fresh, new, high-profile events to put us on the map for more than just sand and sun. Road races. Let’s do this!